Heartland congressmen dispute report about veterans possibly being denied health care for being Democrats

Multiple Heartland congressmen on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee weighed in on a recent report from the Guardian, which detailed federal rule changes that could discriminate against veterans based on political affiliation.

According to documents reportedly obtained by the publication and published on Monday, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has changed its rules to allow doctors employed at VA hospitals to refuse treatment to Democrats and unmarried individuals. These changes were made to abide by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

In response to the article, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) claimed that its contents contain “debunked lies.” When asked if he would support the discriminatory practice of denying health care based on ideology, Van Orden asserted himself as one of Congress’ top advocates for ensuring all veterans get the support they need.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs has debunked the lies that were published by The Guardian,” a spokesperson for Van Orden said. “As a veteran himself and a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Rep. Van Orden is one of Congress’ top advocates for ensuring everyone who served our nation receive the care and support they earned. To insinuate otherwise is shameful.”

Despite his words, Van Orden spearheaded efforts to discontinue the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase program, which reportedly kept as many as 15,000 veterans from facing foreclosure. Van Orden has also publicly advocated for cuts to the VA during a House Veterans’ Affairs Committee meeting last month.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said on X the report is “low, even for a publication like the Guardian” and that “they should be ashamed of themselves.” And the official Facebook account for the GOP members of the committee, led by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), reposted an X post from the VA to “set the record straight” that veterans wouldn’t be discriminated on political affiliation.

In response to the Guardian’s reporting, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz did not dispute the new rules allowing for political and marital status discrimination at VA hospitals and care centers. But he asserted that “all eligible veterans will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law.”

However, the VA hospitals’ bylaws recently included “national origin,” “politics,” and “marital status” in a list of things medial staff could not discriminate against patients, but all have been reportedly removed.

In a statement to the Guardian, Dr. Arthur Caplan, founding head of the division of medical ethics at New York University, said the rule changes are highly unethical.

“It seems on its face an effort to exert political control over the VA medical staff,” he said. “What we typically tell people in healthcare is: ‘You keep your politics at home and take care of your patients.’ Those views aren’t relevant to caring for patients. So why would we put anyone at risk of losing care that way?”

According to the department’s website, the VA network includes 1,380 health care facilities and serves over 9 million veterans annually.

The office of Rep. Tom Barrett’s (R-MI), another congressman on the committee, did not respond to a request for comment for this article.